Rugby: Mid Western slip at end

A last minute fluke try has seen Old Boys' Marist keep their unbeaten record intact after trailing by nine points with 10 minutes remaining.

Old Boys' Marist openside flanker brought cheers and smiles to the home crowd in the 81st minute when he scooped up a Dan Wells chip kick to steal the victory by 26-25.

While Mid Western were left pondering how they let Old Boys' Marist escape with the bonus point win on Saturday, Old Boys' Marist and their supporters were jumping and cheering.

However, Old Boys' Marist co-coach Boyd Matson said even though the chip and chase tactic proved a winner on Saturday it wasn't likely to be seen again as a match winning plan in future.

"It was just an ugly old kick that ended up bouncing the right way," Matson said, who co-coaches alongside Mark Seymour and Paul Butarini.

After trailing 22-13 at the break, Old Boys' Marist saved their best handling skills for the final 20 after earlier frustrating coaches and spectators with sloppy ball control and a stop-start affair.

Matson said the win showed his side's ability to keep playing right to the end as they never gave up and just kept trucking along.

"We made unforced errors which is disappointing, but the overriding thing for me is we must be in with a shot [of making the playoffs] if we play like that and come out with a win."

Mid Western coach Simon Cauty admitted his side was gutted about the loss but realised they only had themselves to blame falling off the pace late in the game.

"We thought we played pretty well and thought we had it but you've got play the whole 80 minutes," Cauty Said.

Cauty said his side made some bad decisions in the final 10, such as running it back from the 22 rather than playing field position and losing lineouts, concluding that Mid Western, missing Lachie Munro and Ash Moeke, simply had not played smart enough.

In the other premier grade matches, Kamo continued its unbeaten run by comfortably winning over Hikurangi 58-10; Mid Northern beat the Western Sharks 37-19; Wellsford accounted for Otamatea 50-15; and Hora Hora got their first win of the year with a 29-10 victory over Waipu.

In the reserves, Old Boys' Marist made it three-from-four with a 43-8 win; Kamo brushed aside Hikurangi 74-12; the Western Sharks beat Mid Northern 30-23; Wellsford edged Otamatea 28-23; and Waipu stepped up to take down Hora Hora 42-24.